To prepare the Baklava syrup place the water and sugar in a medium sized pot. First bring to a boil and continue boiling for 5 minutes. Then simmer for 15 minutes and turn the heat off. Add lemon juice and place the syrup in another bowl so that it cools down quickly.

Place the block of Phyllo sheets on the counter. Cut the sheets in half (8x12 inches) (picture). Now there are two blocks of approximately 40 sheets. After cutting in half, the size of the sheets should the same as the size of the Pyrex dish. Keep the blocks separate as half the sheets will go below the Baklava filling, and the rest above.

Brush the inside of the pyrex dish with the butter. Then lay down 2 sheets. Spread more butter on top (picture), and then place two more sheets on top and butter again. Continue until you finish the first block of the phyllo sheets. Then brush on the cream evenly on top (picture).

Spread the pistachios on the cream evenly (picture). Then finish second block of the sheets the same way. Don't forget to brush the very top with butter.

Dip a big, sharp knife into hot water to cut the Baklava in rectangles. Cut 4 vertically and 6 horizontally to get 24 piece of Baklava. However, don't cut all the way down, only cut halfway until you reach the pistacchio (picture). This will ensure only the top parts will rise when you bake it.

Preheat the oven to 375 F. Place the pyrex dish on the middle rack. Bake for 25 minutes. At this point turn the heat down to 325 F while the dish is still in the oven. Bake for 30 more minutes and take the Baklava out. Leave it at room temperature for 10 minutes.

Then using the same knife, re-cut the Baklava all the way down. This part may be a little bit hard but is worth it:)

With a tablespoon pour the lukewarm syrup evenly along the cut lines. Make sure not to pour it all over, only between the lines, otherwise Baklava won't turn out well (picture).

Sprinkle some pistachios on top of each Baklava. Let it rest at least 4 hours before serving. The syrup should be completely absorbed. You don't need to refrigerate it. Cover Baklava loosely with aluminum foil.

The history of baklava, like that of many other foods, is not well documented. Though it has been claimed by many ethnic groups, the best evidence is that it is of Central Asian Turkic origin, but its current form was developed in the imperial kitchens (Ottoman Empire) of the Topkapı Palace (located in Istanbul).

Other claims about its origins include: that it is of Assyrian origin, dates back to ancient Mesopotamia, and was mentioned in a Mesopotamian cookbook on walnut dishes; that al-Baghdadi describes it in his 13th-century cookbook; that it was a popular Byzantine dish; and so on. But Claudia Roden and Andrew Dalby find no evidence for it in Arab, Greek, or Byzantine sources before the Ottoman period.

Vryonis (1971) identified the ancient Greek gastris, kopte, kopton, or koptoplakous, mentioned in the Deipnosophistae, as baklava, and calls it a "Byzantine favorite". However, Perry (1994) shows that though gastris contained a filling of nuts and honey, it did not include any dough; instead, it involved a honey and ground sesame mixture.

Perry then assembles evidence to show that layered breads were created by Turks in Central Asia and argues that the "missing link" between the Central Asian folded or layered breads (which did not include nuts) and modern phyllo-based pastries like baklava is the Azerbaijani dish Bakı pakhlavası, which involves layers of dough and nuts, but not thin phyllo dough, which probably was developed in the kitchens of the Topkapı Palace. Indeed, the sultan presented trays of baklava to the Janissaries* every 15th of Ramadan in a ceremonial procession called the Baklava Alayı.

* The Janissaries comprised infantry units that formed the Ottoman sultan's household troops and bodyguard. The force originated in the 14th century; it was abolished by Sultan Mahmud II in 1826 in The Auspicious Incident. The name janissary or janizary derives from the Ottoman Turkish:"yeniçeri" meaning "new soldier".

merhaba binnur! thanks for the recipe. i discovered your lovely site a few weeks ago when i did a search on "turkish recipes". your recipes are simple, straight to the point and your photos are so gorgeous (and mouth watering!). i'm currently dating a (smokin' hot. heh) turkish man and i've been trying to get a hold of some turkish recipes (cos i personally love turkish food, not just to impress him and his anne haha!). the baklava is such a gorgeous dessert, i'd love to be able to make it. anyway, keep up the good work, i've got you bookmark.

Hi Jewel,Thank you for the lovely comment:) If you like you can impress with these food his "anne" and his entire family :)) We lived in Singapore 18 years ago for almost 2 years and we all fell in love about every thing in your country:) We lived near Newton Circus and my daughter went to Dover Court, my son was a baby at that time....

Hello Binnur,When you say cream 35% would this be ok?http://www.landolakes.com/products/SubCategoryIndex.cfm?SubCategoryID=66Thanks for your help and thank you for maintaining such a great site. Keep up the good work.

I discovered your site recently, but I already tried at least 5 of your delicious and well explained recipes.My hubby and all my guests love your baklava. Unfortunately, the pieces fall apart when placing them into a plate (especially the upper sheets above the nut layer do not really stick together). Do you have an idea how to improve that? THANKS!! Lena

Hi Binnur, What a fantastic baklava recipe! I folow the recipe word by word and turned out to be the most delicious baklava ever found in Britain..The ones that are sold here are either too dry or too sweet or both..so I am very happy as baklava is my favourite dessert. A little tip for people from Britain: I have used Antoniou fresh filo pastry from the Tesco's.. as it is very thin, perfect for baklava. This is the first recipe from your site, I will be trying more recipes..ThanksA cook from Britain

Merhaba! I found your site today and it brings back wonderful memories of my 3 years in Turkey. I love Baklava, but I prefer it made with honey instead of the sugar syrup. Do you have a recipe that uses honey instead? Thanks so much for your site. Have a wonderful day! Laura

Hi,There are so many recipes using very thin Turkish Yufka (Phyllo Pastry ) and they are in different shapes filled with nuts or Kaymak (Turkish Thick Cream). Yes, there is a special technique for these desserts. I am going to post more dessert recipes I hope at least one of them will be what you are looking for:)

Selam Leyla,I've never made Baklava dough. I watched several times while the lady was processing the Delicious hand made Baklava with walnuts back in my country. The yufka was very thin and has perfect round shape! Other than that I have no knowledge to help you, sorry:)

I'm excited to try this recipe this week. The only baklava I'd tasted (US) was always very heavy and too sweat- very gooey. In college, a turkish man made some baklava that was so amazing- the first I'd ever like at all, and I loved it. That was 6 or 7 years ago, and I haven't forgotten about it. I decided to look on the internet and found this recipe! It sounds similar to the baklava he made- thanks for the recipe!

Hello,I had a question about the pistachios that are put on top at the end. Are they in addition to the 1 1/2 cups or should I separate some from the 1 1/2 to spread on the top. Thank you for a such a great site!

Thank you so much for this GREAT recipe!! I am going to make some baklava tomorrow. But I do have one question: I would like to freeze some of the baklava for later use (for surprise guests); at which step would you recommend I freeze (before baking? half-way baked? after baking?) Thank you so much for all your tips and recipes!

Hi,Thank you:) I never froze baklava before. You will divide baklava if you freeze it before or half-way baked or after baking. So none of them seems good to me:) You may change the dish that you prepare in it, and also the measurement of syrup has to be adjusted.....would you consider to make baklava again for your surprise guest:)Sevgilerimle,

I'm a culinary student and for this semester I am doing Asian cuisine. Each of us in the class has to choose an Asian country and cook a full 4 course meal for the day. I will be the head chef this coming Monday and I just found your amazing site today with all the recipes. I was estatic because I had been searching high and low for a cuisine that is easy enough for my crew to follow and cook. I had chosen an appetizer, a soup, a lamb kebab, a chicken kebab, and this baklava recipes for the class. I am excited to do it and see the result. I am sure it will come out great. So wish me luck and let me know if you got any good tips for me for this coming Monday!

Thank you. You had helped me tremendously in a way you could not imagine.

Hi Midge,I am so glad that my recipies can help you and your team:) Most Turkish meals begin with meze (appetizer). Then, the main courseand olive oil dishes come before dessert. Naturally, you shouldn't forget to serve soup in the beginning:) I think you should include one kind of Borek and Breakfast Buns for your meal plan.http://www.turkishcookbook.com/2005/03/turkish-pastry-recipes.php - for Borekhttp://www.turkishcookbook.com/2007/04/turkish-style-breakfast-buns.php

I would also suggest that you make Gavurdag Salad which goes very well with the Shish Kebab, here is the addres;http://www.turkishcookbook.com/2006/08/gavurdagi-salad.php

Hi! I just would like to ask if I do not have a pyrex dish can i use a metal insert instead? What would i need to do to ensure that the baklava does not stick to the insert? Thank you so much for your help.

Hi Midge,Sure, traditionally it's cooked in baking tin which is metal. Just oil inside of it with unsulted butter very well:) I found a picture of Baklava tray for you, I hope it will give you some idea;http://www.hacibeytatlicilik.com/en/baklava.aspAlso I used the same kind of round tepsi for Gullac;http://www.turkishcookbook.com/2005/10/gullac.php

My question is about the whipping cream. I wanted to make sure that I get the right one. I have a heavy whipping cream; is that the one you suggested for baklava? Also, just being curious :) why do you add whipping cream? Does it hold the pistachios secure?

Merhaba Zeynep Hanim,Yes, 35%cream is the whipping cream. I love Gaziantep style Baklava which has pistachio and kaymak between middle of the layers. I am using heavy cream instead of kaymak because it is more light:)Sevgilerimle,

I made this baklava this past weekend and it was a hit! I'm pakistani and I invited some turkish friends over and they are truely impressed and amazed at how well they turned out. they thought I bought it from a restaurant! Great recipe.

hello. i just wana say well done thank you so much for makeing it so easy i love turkist baklava but i was not able to make it but now i read u r recipe and i made it for first time it was just perfect. i would like to ask you something well as every one knows that cuting of baklava is not so easy so i tought if we cut it and then we put it in oven will that give us the good result? thanks.

I wanted to make baklava and I bought "yufka" and the 500 grams is 5 sheets is there a different type that has 20-22 sheets ? I am really confused on pastry and I really want the baklava to come out well.....

Hi Jana,There is yufka to make Borek and there is another type of yufka which is thinner for Baklava . I specified the main ingredient "454 gr (1 lb) Phyllo Pastry (~20-22 sheets)". My understanding is that, what you bought is for making Borek. Please follow all the ingredients that I gave in my recipes:)

Thank you thank you! My husband is from Urfa and has found American baklava a big dissapointment. I recently found raw pistachios to make Turkish baklava. The next step was to find a good recipe. Now it is complete. I will make this very soon!

Also, thank you so much for your website, it will help me to be a better Turkish(American) wife! :)

I salute you and thank you most sincerely for your website which I use a lot.

I am from Baghdad of Turkish ancestors and like most Baghdadis we worship proper baklawa. My Kismet is that I ended up living in Ireland where authentic baklawa is as rare as seeing stars at midday. Your recipe has saved me. I use your baklawa recipe all the time but without the cream filling so that I can store it at room temp for a few days. The texture of the pastry, the sweetness and syrup always turns out perfectly. However, I would be most grateful to you if you could please let me know how to achieve the “domed” or curved shape of each of the baklawa pieces.

Dear Lateef Hanim,I am glad that you liked Baklava recipe that I've posted:) It is almost impossible to give a domed shape for each of the baklava pieces when cooked at home. Baklava needs to be cooked at commercial ovens with the clarified butter and handmade yufka to have this shape:)Sincerely,

I had overseas a dessert that was similar some sort of variation of a sigarra baklava. It used the shreaded phyllo dough, but instead of the teraditional nuts it had a white cheese. I have come across a recipe for Kahtief or Konafah (Arabic) but those use ricotta cheese. The dessert I had was more like Danish White Cheese in the filling. It was very delicious. Do you have any idea what it may be and can you post a recipe.

Merhaba Leyla,I've already posted Kunefe recipe under the Dessert section. If you like you can use Danish White Cheese in it:) There is more dessert recipes with the shredded dough in Turkish cuisine. I am going to post more in the future:)

I love your recipes, it has helped me lot. Im going to make the baklava but I dont seem to understand the cream part of the recipe can you elaborate it just a little bit. Do I use heavy cream or half and half or am I totally wrong?

Hi Binnur!I am doing a cooking test in school soon and I chose to base my menu on a Turkish theme. I was wondering how long it takes to prepare and cook Baklava? Your help would be very much appreciated!Keep up the good work!

I just made this last night and people seem to appreciate it ( I haven't tried it yet). However I couldn't cut it all the way down while it was dry, but now that the syrup's settled in, it's easier to cut. Great recipe!

Greetings from a Romanian student from Germany, who loves everything Turkish :)

Really enjoying making your recipes! I have always kept away from Baklava because was told its very difficult, but I want to try with your recipe as I trust you!

Just a quick question though! When you say the phylo pastry that you use for this, is it the same as the günlük yufka that you use to make sigara borek falan? I live in Istanbul so can get it easily, just dont want to use the wrong thing!

Also another Q about the Kunefe, which cheese shouldI use out here, you said Feta? What should I look for in the shops here? Whenever I eat Kunefe (MY FAV!!) the cheese inside always seems like Kaşar peynir, which turkish cheese would you think is the best?